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Replicator
materializes]] :''Food slot and food service redirects here, you may also be looking for a food synthesizer.'' A replicator was a device that used transporter technology to dematerialize quantities of matter and then rematerialize that matter in another form.( ) It was also capable of inverting its function, thus disposing of leftovers and dishes. ( ; ) Items thus disposed of served to fuel the replicator, and would later be reconstituted as other objects. ( ) Replicators were capable of producing something as fresh and tasty as non-replicated foodstuffs, inorganically materialized out of patterns used by the transporters. ( ) Most people found replicated foods and drinks to taste exactly the same as "real" food, although some people claimed to be able to tell the difference. Furthermore, Federation replicators could be programmed to produce foodstuffs of acceptable "nutritional value". ( ; ) On Starfleet vessels, replicators produced synthehol versions of alcoholic drinks by default, but they could easily be manually readjusted through their control panel to make real alcohol instead. ( ) In addition to foodstuffs, replicators could be used for replicating machine parts, clothing, or other objects. Although clothing could be replicated for general wear, replicators would not allow non-Starfleet crew members to replicate official Starfleet uniforms. Industrial replicators could even be used to replicate heavier machine parts. ( ; ; ) Replicators had limits to their functionality. If the object desired contained a certain degree of complexity in its molecular structure, it could not be replicated. ( ) Replicators aboard Starfleet vessels would not produce fatal poisons. ( ) Furthermore, replicators had biofilters which automatically screened out all contaminants. ( ) On Starfleet installations and starships, if a person in custody was confined to quarters, it was standard policy to disable the replicators that the person had access to in order to ensure that a weapon could not be replicated. ( ; ) Replicators (along with transporters and force fields) were one of the technologies used in holodecks and holosuites. ( ) Some alien replication technology was used to create organic material, such as when the D'Arsay archive created living snakes. The "Allegiance" aliens were also able to create living things, as in the case of Jean-Luc Picard's imposter, for which the replicators were even able to recreate the dendritic connections where memory was stored. ( ) While only a genetronic replicator could fully replicate actual organs for use in medical transplants, ( ) by 2371, standard Starfleet replicator technology was theoretically capable of creating artificial substitutes for natural organs for use in transplants. However, this required the system to have some understanding of the organs required; for example, it was impossible to use a replicator to create a set of Talaxian lungs, as Talaxian physiology included a complex series of neural links between the lungs and the rest of the body that replicators were unable to duplicate exactly. ( ) Some citizens of the Federation, such as Robert Picard, refused to use replicators. Picard was opposed to their use and would not allow them on his property. ( ) History and notable uses One of the first replicators seen by Humans was the one seen by the crew of when they had their ship repaired in a mysterious automated repair station. Until this time, the most comparable technology aboard 22nd century starships were protein resequencers, which had limited capabilities compared to later technologies. ( ; ) In the 23rd century, the United Federation of Planets had not yet perfected replicator technology for ships but replicators already existed in industrial sites. Replicator technology was, however, in use by The Assigners, and the Beta 5 computer utilized replicator technology to manufacture several false identity cards for use by Gary Seven. ( ) Starships of this time period were equipped with food synthesizers. This was a step forward, but did not achieve the quality and sophistication of the 24th century replicator. Replicator technology was not yet employed on starships as late as 2293. ( ; ) 24th century Federation starships were commonly equipped with replicators because they allowed for a wide variety of foods and beverages to be served to crew members and also allowed for replication of other objects. The selection was limited only by the software and the number of options that had been programmed. ( ; ; ) Captain Jean-Luc Picard beamed down to Delta Rana IV with a portable matter replicator for the Uxbridges in 2366. ( ) When Beverly Crusher determined a captured Romulan needed ribosomes to survive, she noted that the replicator could not be used due to the complexity of the molecular structure. ( ) As of 2367, starships were equipped with a replicating center containing several replicator terminals resembling miniature transporter pads at which crew members could order items. Lieutenant Worf and Lieutenant Commander Data shopped the 's replicating center for a wedding present for Miles and Keiko O'Brien. ( ) The Enterprise-D's replicators were used to provide blankets to a Bajoran refugee camp. ( ) The replicator played a key role in spreading the Ktarian game around the Enterprise-D in 2368. ( ) On the Promenade of the Federation space station Deep Space 9, the Replimat provided a casual location for inhabitants to enjoy a meal or beverage courtesy of a bank of replicators located along one of its walls. ( ) Replicators in the Delta Quadrant After the was pulled to the Delta Quadrant in 2371, an energy crisis occurred several weeks into the journey back to the Alpha Quadrant, and Janeway ordered replicator usage to be rationed in order to conserve power for other key systems. These replicator rations became a type of currency among its crew. ( ) .)}} The Ocampa were provided with food dispensers by the in their underground city on . ( ) Later that year, it became very clear that replicator technology was unknown to the indigenous people of the region around the Ocampan homeworld. The Kazon, in particular, repeatedly tried to obtain this technology, as did other races. Captain Janeway feared that if this technology was acquired by a civilization before it was ready, disastrous consequences could ensue. For this reason, and because of the Prime Directive, Janeway refused to give up this technology at any price. ( ) By 2377, however, the crew of Voyager had shared replicators to help people feed and clothe themselves a number of times. ( ) In contrast, the Ferengi Arridor and Kol used a portable replicator to pass themselves off as the Great Sages of the Takarians. ( ) In 2374 in the alternate timeline known as the Year of Hell, the replicator system on ''Voyager was heavily damaged by attacks from Krenim warships, forcing the crew to go to emergency rations.'' ( ) In 2377, Voyager acquired technology from a race within that had joined The Alliance which tripled the ship's replicator efficiency. ( ) Background information *The idea of replicators was unpopular with the writers of Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. Ira Steven Behr commented: ""I'd like to lose the replicators. They're my least favorite thing in ''Star Trek. A society that uses replicators is a doomed, finished society''. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) Ronald D. Moore added: "Replicators are the worst thing ever. Destroys storytelling all the time. They mean there’s no value to anything. Nothing has value in the universe if you can just replicate everything, so all that goes away. Nothing is unique; if you break something, you can just make another one. If something breaks on the ship, it’s “Oh, no big deal, Geordie can just go down to engineering and make another doozywhatsit.” Or they go to a planet and that planet needed something: “Oh, hey, let’s make them what they need!” We just hated it and tried to forget about it as much as possible". https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/08/21/ron-moore-replicators-words-wisdom/ See also * Food synthesizer * Industrial replicator * Class 4 industrial replicator * Protein resequencer * Matter-energy conversion matrix External link * cs:Replikátor de:Replikator es:Replicador fr:Synthétiseur ja:レプリケーター ru:Репликатор Category:Technology